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USA -- low budget repatriation specific locations that aren't horrible

Jingthing

By Jingthing
in Home Country Forum

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Goldbear
Goldbear

Are you going to work? Houston is big. Would you have a car (more $)? If I didn't have to work and wanted to stay in the USA full time I would get a rig like a 4x4 pickup with a small camper and li

T_Dog
T_Dog

I moved back to Upper Michigan a few months back and I also feared the cold weather after being in Thailand for nine years. Been actually quite surprised how quickly I adapted to the cooler temps and

SpokaneAl
SpokaneAl

This is an interesting discussion. So many who live in warmer climates (and I have been guilty in the past) frame each question and solution based on the weather. IMO when talking about Arizona, Louis

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lannarebirth Star Member

lannarebirth

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

TO each their own but I just don’t get Portland. Have plenty of experience with it. ITs not cheap. It sucks like no other city I’ve ever been in. In the summer it is great I will admit. Honestly the rain affects me so much there I could not even enjoy the summers because I’d be thinking about how bad the winter is going to be the entire time. It’s getting more and more crowded everyday. I also have this thing about “big cities”; either give me an actual big city where I can go to an A+ club and see one of the best djs in the world, but don’t give give this no little big city stuff I’d almost rather have nothing. Overall, ID Much rather move to a California desert than Portland myself. AT Least it is actually cheap and there’s tons to do for many people and there’s are times of year it’s downright gorgeous weather. Sunsets/late afternoons are sublime almost year round. 

 

Portland has absolutely horrible weather except for a few months in the summertime. Horrible, horrible traffic.I really have never understood it's growing allure.

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lannarebirth Star Member

lannarebirth

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, mogandave said:

I think if we’re talking about budget retirement places it is not likely income taxes are not as much of a concern as sales taxes, utilities, auto insurance & rent.




Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

When considering repatriating back to the US from Thailand I'd say the biggest concern is to understand that in Thailand everything you need is cheap and everything you want is expensive. In the US the opposite applies.

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lannarebirth Star Member

lannarebirth

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44 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

believe that I'd be careful of Portland...not a good place for folks on a limited budget to live plus the city is liberal enclave surrounded by redneck Trump supporters that are armed to the teeth...search google for the demographic...

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/alt-rally-draws-protests-portland-oregon-170605081719281.html

 

as much as I love the Pacific NW not much has changed in that regard since I lived in Oregon 40 years ago...and the polarization now is even more acute...

 

 

 

Notable exceptions being Salem, Corvallis, Bend, Eugene, Ashland, but yeah you could get caught in a range war if you get east of the Cascades.

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tutsiwarrior Diamond Member

tutsiwarrior

Posted
Posted (edited)
46 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Notable exceptions being Salem, Corvallis, Bend, Eugene, Ashland, but yeah you could get caught in a range war if you get east of the Cascades.

 

yeah...that's pretty much what the voting demographic illustrates, ie, educated folks against the ignorant rednecks but you can't blame them much as they were there first with the ranches and the loggin'...

 

I just hate the possible scenario of stopping for a cup of coffee outside of town and then

 

 

 

and that's even west of the Cascades...them loggin' towns on the coast ain't none too friendly neither...

 

in the bar after work in Mapleton just east of Florence: 'I heard that yer a goddam brazilian n****r toe...' 'well, it's true that my mom is from Bolivia in south america...' 'it don't matter, son...I also heard that yer a good riggin' man so yer OK...'

 

 

the folks there have got a harsh life so ye can't blame them too much I reckon...

 

 

Edited by tutsiwarrior
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InMyShadow Explorer Member

InMyShadow

Posted
Posted
Richness of food culture is a factor for some of us.
This list is interesting and humorous if not very surprising.
 
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/every-state-ranked-by-its-food-drink
 
I did take note of this mention about North Carolina:
... a Charlotte food scene that's consistently underrated.
 
 
 
That was a great read with sharp wit.

I could imagine some expats relocating to a state based on their favorite foods
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lannarebirth Star Member

lannarebirth

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

yeah...that's pretty much what the voting demographic illustrates, ie, educated folks against the ignorant rednecks but you can't blame them much as they were there first with the ranches and the loggin'...

 

I just hate the possible scenario of stopping for a cup of coffee outside of town and then

 

 

 

and that's even west of the Cascades...them loggin' towns on the coast ain't none too friendly neither...

 

in the bar after work in Mapleton just east of Florence: 'I heard that yer a goddam brazilian n****r toe...' 'well, it's true that my mom is from Bolivia in south america...' 'it don't matter, son...I also heard that yer a good riggin' man so yer OK...'

 

 

the folks there have got a harsh life so ye can't blame them too much I reckon...

 

 

 

You'd be surprised about some of those former logging towns. Growing pot (legally) is the number one industry there now.  The days of the Wigwam / Beehive burners are long gone.

 

 

 

Mapleton Wigwam.jpg

Edited by lannarebirth
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gk10002000 Platinum Member

gk10002000

Posted
Posted
On 2/10/2018 at 5:24 PM, swissie said:

A thread that has gotten much attention. Repatriation back to the US is not a problem. But "Low Cost" repatriation may be a problem.
"Low cost repatriations" have been suggested , ranging from Alaska all the way down to the swamps of Florida and everything else in between.
Fact: Life in the US is more expensive than in Thailand (no matter where you go).
Returning lost sheep, having lived outside of the US, bare of any financial means, can not expect to get a warm welcome in the US.
The US is not a "nanny-state" when it comes to re-accommodate citizens that have decided to spend their money in some exotic place.
If that's the expectation, you have the "wrong" Passport.
The only thing I find remarkable is the fact that many a staunch opposers of a "Nanny-State" would see themselves as privileged if only they would be citizens of a "nanny-state". (= Wrong Passport).
Final analysis: An american citizen, living in a 3000 Bht rental Shoebox in Pattaya is better off than this counterpart in the US living under a bridge.
America first. Good luck.
Cheers.  

Well, you are entitled to your opinion.    So you never worked, never saved, never invested, have no friends, no family, no way to share a house for reasonable and cheap room?  The beaches all along the East Coast of Florida are cleaner than most beaches in Thailand.  I love Pattaya, but you can't set foot in the water.  Medical care?  Ggood luck in Thailand without proper medical and as you get older.  Legal resources?  Good luck with Thai "legal system".  Plenty of corruption and bad things in the USA, no doubt about it, but you will have more outs than you are likely to have in Thailand.  If you are trying to compare down and out and destitute and living under a bridge in the USA with almost living on the street in Pattaya, well, if that is the route one wants to or has to go, good luck with that.  I all for a minimalist lifestyle, but if that is your goal, and no career, no goal, and just giving up on things, again, your choice.  Don't sell out the USA so fast.  Social security and medicare is real.  VA medical is real and is used by many vets.  There are many ways to set oneself up for affordable living in the USA, while still spending lots of time in Thailand.

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utalkin2me Gold Member

utalkin2me

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Portland has absolutely horrible weather except for a few months in the summertime. Horrible, horrible traffic.I really have never understood it's growing allure.

I honestly cannot figure it. It has some appeal I suppose, nice restaurants, great cultural scene. I don’t find there is particularly a lot to do considering the weather. Much to do in the dryer warmer months I suppose, but I’m not a damn hibernating bear. It’s a self imposed fact that everyone there just sits in bookstores and reads. I hate books lol. When you see people biking to work in pouring rain and freezing temps like it’s nothing I suppose that is the first clue that it’s just not for me. I can admire the spirit of the people who do like it though. 

 

For me, Portland is good beer and great sales tax. That’s it though for the positives.

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GinBoy2 Platinum Member

GinBoy2

Posted
Posted

I gotta admit I don't quite get the hype around Portland. It's expensive, the weather is dreary, and the traffic is on a par with the SF Bay Area, in fact I've been in some of the worst traffic on I-5 in Portland that I have ever experienced, and I'm sorry i just don't get the supposed allure of downtown, looks grimy to me.

Maybe if you're a young hipster type if has some appeal, but I'm too old to understand that appeal.

If you want the Northwest, Washington State is far and away a better choice

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gk10002000 Platinum Member

gk10002000

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

I honestly cannot figure it. It has some appeal I suppose, nice restaurants, great cultural scene. I don’t find there is particularly a lot to do considering the weather. Much to do in the dryer warmer months I suppose, but I’m not a damn hibernating bear. It’s a self imposed fact that everyone there just sits in bookstores and reads. I hate books lol. When you see people biking to work in pouring rain and freezing temps like it’s nothing I suppose that is the first clue that it’s just not for me. I can admire the spirit of the people who do like it though. 

 

For me, Portland is good beer and great sales tax. That’s it though for the positives.

yep.  Good sales tax in Oregon, not state tax across the line in Washington.  Kind of like the Massachusetts and New Hampshire border.

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SpokaneAl Silver Member

SpokaneAl

Posted
Posted


Moving a bit heavy into hyperbole and stereotyping. We split each year between Thailand and Spokane, WA and both places are just made up of people, trying to get on with their lives, and enjoy life while hoping for a bit better for their children. Cost of living notwithstanding, we travel throughout eastern and western WA and OR, and have yet to encounter what you are describing.


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tutsiwarrior Diamond Member

tutsiwarrior

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, SpokaneAl said:

 


Moving a bit heavy into hyperbole and stereotyping. We split each year between Thailand and Spokane, WA and both places are just made up of people, trying to get on with their lives, and enjoy life while hoping for a bit better for their children. Cost of living notwithstanding, we travel throughout eastern and western WA and OR, and have yet to encounter what you are describing.


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

dunno...I lived and worked in the woods in Oregon and Alaska for 3 years (BA in history and working on woods crews like in the video) and there was a definite divide back in the 70s...I left and returned to LA as the life there became an assault on my liberal sensibilities...one cannot be half - assed about engaging in the harsh life there as it consumes one...I learned a lot...

 

 

 

 

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mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted
dunno...I lived and worked in the woods in Oregon and Alaska for 3 years (BA in history and working on woods crews like in the video) and there was a definite divide back in the 70s...I left and returned to LA as the life there became an assault on my liberal sensibilities...one cannot be half - assed about engaging in the harsh life there as it consumes one...I learned a lot...
 
 
 
 


Yeah, there is no benefit to being exposed to an alternative viewpoint, particularly when haters are
involved...
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tutsiwarrior Diamond Member

tutsiwarrior

Posted
Posted (edited)
54 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 


Yeah, there is no benefit to being exposed to an alternative viewpoint, particularly when haters are
involved...

 

 

it ain't hatred so much as ignorance and the fear of what you don't understand...liberals don't share the same values, most of these folks work loggin' crews during  the season (the weather shuts them down Nov - Apr) then hunt and fish to make a living, raise vegetable gardens and put stuff up in jars for the winter...a far cry from an educated dude on a middle class salary...fiercely independent and would never take assistance from anyone...most family's been workin' in the woods for 2 - 3 generations...goddam tough as nails...

 

just some of my observations...it opened my eyes...the rural idyll in a cabin or a trailer house up the Mackenzie river in Oregon disguises a harsh reality...

 

 

Edited by tutsiwarrior
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mogandave Ruby Member

mogandave

Posted
Posted
 
it ain't hatred so much as ignorance and the fear of what you don't understand...liberals don't share the same values, most of these folks work loggin' crews during  the season (the weather shuts them down Nov - Apr) then hunt and fish to make a living, raise vegetable gardens and put stuff up in jars for the winter...a far cry from an educated dude on a middle class salary...fiercely independent and would never take assistance from anyone...most family's been workin' in the woods for 2 - 3 generations...goddam tough as nails...
 
just some of my observations...it opened my eyes...the rural idyll in a cabin or a trailer house up the Mackenzie river in Oregon disguises a harsh reality...
 
 


Yeah, as tough as they are ignorant.

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lannarebirth Star Member

lannarebirth

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Posted
20 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 


Yeah, as tough as they are ignorant.
 

 

Perhaps, but without them who would feed America, or build its roads or homes or fight its wars? I find a certain nobility in self sufficiency. To be a conservative person does not always translate into being conservative politically.

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SpokaneAl Silver Member

SpokaneAl

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Posted
Perhaps, but without them who would feed America, or build its roads or homes or fight its wars? I find a certain nobility in self sufficiency. To be a conservative person does not always translate into being conservative politically.

 

Sometimes it does translate and sometimes it doesn’t - either way to classify an entire group of people as ignorant seems a bit . . . ignorant?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

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This article has some very useful information for older expats that may be repatriating and also will lack a good SUPPORT SYSTEM if they do so. I think that is probably fairly common for expats that have lived abroad for many years. But as usual, it still takes a healthy amount of MOOLAH. 

 

Quote

Single? No Kids? Don’t Fret: How to Plan Care in Your Later Years

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/business/elder-orphans-care.html

 

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GinBoy2 Platinum Member

GinBoy2

Posted
Posted

Interesting article, and I suspect more common than people care to admit.

I have to admit myself, that one of my motivations for wanting to move back to the US was so that I could be near my daughters, since as I always have said to my wives..."I'm only married to you, I'm related to my kids"

As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water

After my Mother died I took care of my Dad, and generally I think it's more common in Hispanic families that kids always take care of parents, often living together, than it is in Anglo families.

That being said, the trend, albeit a lot slower, is that people marry later, and have fewer kids, which doesn't bode well if that is your old age support plan

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